A teenage boy confessed to raping his 10-year-old neighbor in a rice field last month after he was arrested at his family’s home in Battambang province on Wednesday, local officials said Thursday.
The 16-year-old allegedly raped the girl on the morning of May 27 as she was collecting snails in a field about 300 meters from their village in Mong Russei district, according to Seng Luch, deputy chief of the provincial police’s serious crimes bureau.
“We arrested him at about 5 p.m. following a complaint by the victim’s family,” he said, explaining that the girl never mentioned the attack to her parents, who called police after noticing injuries to her genitals a week later.
Mr. Luch said the suspect immediately confessed under questioning, adding that the teenager “saw a good opportunity because the girl was in the field alone.”
“The girl is so quiet—she does not talk to any people now,” he added.
Deputy provincial police chief Chet Vanny said the boy was questioned at the provincial court Thursday, but that the deputy prosecutor had not yet decided whether to lay charges.
